Haevichi Hotel & Resort, The Interiors

This sprawling hotel and resort has wide open space, wide alleys, and wide, big guest rooms.

This is my room. It has a complete kitchen facilities – stove, cooking pans, plates, knives, spoon and fork, cups, etc. They are all inside those cabinets. So if people want to cook their own food, they can buy raw food in nearby shops outside the resort, walking distance, and cook inside their guest room.

 The dinning table, which became my work area. There is wifi everywhere in the hotel – guest rooms, lobby, meeting rooms, grand ballroom.

I think all guest rooms have 2 or more bedrooms. This is my bed, with own toilet inside, own air-con, but no tv.

TV room, playroom. Inside the cabinets on the right are many pillows, blankets and bed sheets. So one can lay them down and watch tv or play in this area. One can also watch tv from the sofa, beside the dinning table.

The high tech toilet bowl, yes, this is what I always look forward to when I stay in a Korean or Japanese hotel. The seat bowl itself is heated, and see the various buttons on the left – just push any of them to choose washing your behind: warm water, room temp water, moving sprinkler, warm air to dry your behind, really cool. This same toilet bowl is also present in the toilet inside the bedroom.

The bathroom with two showers but no bath tub. Nice and cool. I like the warm water of course, it was still cold in Korea last month. 

They do not give complimentary toothbrush, toothpaste and shave for men though, only a liquid soap and shampoo.

The buffet breakfast restaurant of the Resort wing. Nice food. The cakes, cookies, other food on display though, are not part of the breakfast, for sale separately.

Haevichi Hotel & Resort, Part 2

When I posted Part 1 of this hotel, I did not realize that there is another swimming pool, an indoor with heated water, in the main hotel building. I was roaming around the resort building areas, in front of my room then.

Children would definitely love this pool as it is heated, so they can swim even during winter or spring time.

That's one beauty of this big and sprawling hotel, it has lots of open spaces.

Inside this structure. The water could be at 35 C or warmer, nice to take a dip. I discovered this after I have checked out, argh.

Side and back view of the hotel building.

Isabelo Garden Restaurant, Marikina

Another guest article by a good friend, Patty Soliman. This time, it's about great food.
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Isabelo Garden Restaurant

By Patty Soliman

This is a very long overdue post. I found previous pictures from our February Family Event and I must say this is something I mustn’t fail to share. I arranged a post-wedding celebration for my cousin Evangel and his wife, Carmi who flew all the way from Vancouver. It took me sometime to find a place that would make this family get-together be  memorable for everyone. Again, a big thanks to Google for helping me find this secret garden restaurant situated at the very heart of Marikina City. 

I’ve coordinated several weddings at Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish Church before, not knowing that there is a garden restaurant nearby that matches my taste palate. Well, savoring for European delicacies particularly Italian dishes is always my kind of treat and I immediately fell in love with the line of menu owner Portia Baluyot prepared for her Isabelo Garden Restaurant. Looking at the menu and the rustic garden restaurant from the website, I immediately made reservation for the family all 35 of us for this romantic celebration. 

You will be surprised that no signage or anything that will tell if it’s the restaurant you are looking for. Well, that’s how secret the place is. We knew that we are on the right place following the map we printed from Google and a call from the owner herself. A courteous guard who stands at the rustic grill gate welcomes us as we enter the place. The restaurant is an old house which Ms. Portia said owned by her grandparents. The garden was stylized with shabby chic and some memorabilia from the family’s collections and tables for 2-6 people placed around the garden. A perfect place if a man plans to have wedding proposal. Tivoli lights adorned on each trees and with some acoustic music complimenting this romantic place. Every restaurant is also being judged not only for the food but the restroom as well. This restaurant has a powder room that can be like your bedroom for the huge size and cleanliness.

Roasted pork crackling

Isabelo Garden Restaurant is much different from other restaurants that we know. In this particular restaurant, you need to order, online at least 2 days ahead. The restaurant opens during dinner time only. Portia cooks only pre-ordered food. Most of the food were cooked slowly through “pugon” and I must say, this delectable dishes are so tasteful. Choosing for the menu is quite challenging since I wanted to try everything. So to keep me focus and followed a certain budget, I decided to order what was Portia’s best-sellers.

Chcolate mud pie

For the appetizer, I ordered Spinach Artichoke Dip. The family liked it as well. Before the main dish, we are served with Caesar Salad. For the main course, I ordered for everyone Roasted Pork Crackling with 4 types of dips to choose. And yes, this is so heavenly that we all enjoy the crispiness of the skin and the tenderness of the meat. Ms. Portia said she cooked it in “pugon” for 3 hours. This Beef Bourguignon is also so tender and ah, so yummy! The Orange-Herb Chicken was not that popular to the group, but it was something we also enjoyed. Lemon Parslied Garlic Rice also complimented the entire menu. The kids also enjoyed their Isabelo Lokal Bolognese and Parmigiano Carbonara. Desserts were Chocolate Mud Pie and Key Lime Pie, also best-sellers of this restaurant. 

Orange herb chicken

My assessment, two-thumbs up! And for everyone who were there as well. I know the couple, Vangel and Carmi appreciated everyone’s presence and yes, the food served. I’m grateful everyone had great time enjoying this celebration. And with that, I plan to bring some friends to join me taste their new portion of the restaurant, “Rustic Mornings at Isabelo” which offers breakfast meals from 8am-4pm that doesn’t need for pre-order and reservation. I encourage everyone to visit the place and experience what this eastside of the Metro offers. Just like my family, I know, you’ll have 2-thumbs up too. 

Key lime pie

Author rightmost

See also previous articles by Patty:

Palawan Tour, by Patty Soliman, October 19, 2012 

Exploring Sagada, Mt. Province, January 15, 2013 

Pagudpud-Laoag-Vigan, April 01, 2013

Haevichi Hotel&Resort, Jeju

This is my first time to set foot on the beautiful island of Jeju, S. Korea. Our conference, the 8th Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, was held in this big and sprawling hotel.

The hotel is a rectangular building with wide open space in the middle of the four wings with a glass roof. I will post about the interiors of the hotel and resort in my next blog.

The second group of structure are the medium-rise (7-storey) and long buildings with huge rooms per unit. Below are those resort buildings.

A view from the balcony of my room on the 5th floor, I am staying at Rm 1513. Nice, cool view. Tomorrow morning, bye-bye room, I will check out to join a half day tour of selected scenic places of Jeju.

Continuation of the view from my balcony. A wide open grassland with cemented walkway, with short posts for evening lights + music, cool. There is a semi-wild area in the middle of the grassland where some wild species of flowers and short grasses are growing around a pond with naturally flowing water.

The swimming pool with a fountain in the middle. I did not have the chance to dip into this pool as time is limited, attending various panel discussions. Plus the fact that it's cold outside, should be around 20-25 C.

The glass structure below is a hallway adjacent to the grand ballroom. When there are hundreds of guests, the divider is folded and the dining tables are extended up to the hallway.

The kiddie playground with kiddie pool. If my two young girls are with me here, they might get sick as they might insist to take a bath in the cold but inviting pool.

After the bermuda grass in the resort is the road, then the black rocks and the sea. I should visit that place tomorrow before I fly to Jeju airport.

A view of the plains and the big mountain from afar, at the 5th floor of the resort building on the opposite side of my room.

I enjoyed my stay here. Very relaxing. Thanks again, EFN Asia and FNF for bringing me here for the conference.

Gimpo Airport, S. Korea

This is the 4th time that I set foot on Seoul and South Korea. The first was in 1996 for a two-weeks seminar on Technology and Policy, I was working at the House of Representatives (PH) then. I remember I landed in Gimpo airport from Manila. When I went back to S. Korea in 2002, we landed at Incheon airport. My third trip to Korea was in October 2006.

From Manila, I landed at Incheon again last Tuesday. Last Wednesday, going to Jeju, we flew Korean Air at Gimpo. So this is my second time to see Gimpo. It looks small of course, compared to Incheon. But compared to Manila's Terminals 1 or 2 or 3, Gimpo is bigger than them.

I was surprised to see that despite the use of Incheon as the main airport, Gimpo remains busy with lots of airlines and passengers.

Based on the number of check-in counters, Korean Air (KE) is the biggest airline-user of Gimpo. When we boarded our KE flight to Jeju, we took a KE bus from the terminal to the plane, meaning all the departure/arrival gates and tubes were full.

These photos I got from the web. I did not see the train inside Gimpo area. We took a cab from Seoul city proper to Gimpo.

Flying back to Manila tomorrow afternoon, I will fly from Jeju direct to Incheon, then from Incheon to Manila.
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See also:
Incheon-Seoul Airport, S. Korea, January 12, 2012
Somerset Palace Seoul, May 28, 2013

Somerset Palace Seoul

There are about two Somerset hotels in Makati but I have never been to any of their rooms,  just visited their lobby. Today is my time to see a room, my room here in my one night stay in Seoul.

Somerset is in Jungno-Gu ("Gu" means district) in Seoul city proper. These photos I got from the web. Nice and modest lobby with young, efficient and friendly staff at the reception.

One problem is that my flight from Manila was at 1:15am today, delayed a bit and we flew around 1:45am. Seoul city proper is about one hour by car from Incheon international airport. Arrived at tbe hotel around 8am, but was able to check in only around 2pm. They seem to be fully booked with lots of guests.

The lobby, not so grand but spacious enough.

This is my room, a big one, nice. With a queen size bed plus an extra bed. If only my two girls and wife are here (but the plane fare + taxes are expensive, beyond our means).

The small dining table beside a big LG flat tv. The small kitchen has a nice, small electric stove, microwave oven, knives and utensils. The ref i s tall and huge. Beside the door is the laundry area, ironing table, etc.

The CR. Neat and clean, but the seat bowl is traditional type, no push buttons to clean the behind with warm or ordinary water, rotating water, that I saw in my hotel in Seoul in 2006, also at my hotel in Narita, Japan. Nonetheless it's neat and clean.

The view from my room, I'm on the 6th floor.

The garden between the hotel and that building I showed above, view from the 2nd floor, breakfast restaurant area.

Will check the There is no swimming pool. other facilities tomorrow. Meanwhile, preparing for a meeting + dinner tonight, in another place just walking distance from Somerset.

Elle Marie Oplas, Part 2

Posting this in my hotel room in Somerset Ascott Palace Seoul, S. Korea. Meetings will start tonight and the long conference will start tomorrow in Jeju island. Blogging some of the many photos of my elder daughter.

Below as of April 2012. Clockwise from top left: In a creek in the farm in Bugallon, Pangasinan; at The Orchard country club in Dasmarinas, Cavite; with  her former classmate Alfred in Toddlers Unltd in Makati, and when she lost her two front teeth as new teeth are coming out.

May 2012, after the Santacruzan parade in La Paz, Iloilo City.

August 2012, various photos and poses.

In a kinder presentation, St. Scholastica's College, Manila, August 2012.

With "Lola Music" who visited us from Iloilo, August 2012.

Various moods: smiling and crying :-) September 2012.

Also in September 2012.

Our elder daughter is simply getting bigger and smarter.
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See also:
Elle Marie Oplas, August 12, 2012
Elle Marie and Bien Mary Oplas, August 14, 2012
Elle Marie in Negros Occ., August 20, 2012

Bien Mary Oplas, Part 2

Tomorrow, I will fly to S. Korea for a conference and will be away for 5D/4N. Will miss my family, the two girls especially, posting their various photos. This is Part 2 of "Bien-bien", here are her earlier photos, Bien Mary Oplas, July 31, 2012.

At Sacred Heart Church near our place in Barangay San Antonio, Makati City.

When she accompanied her Ate Elle Marie at the ballet class at the CCP.

An aborted ballet class of Elle because of the flooding, so they went to a mall instead.

Upper photos at Bel Air Park, Makati. Lower photos at Manila Bay.

With Mama Ella and Papa Nonoy.

See also, Elle Marie and Bien Mary Oplas, August 14, 2012